Hiking advisory 01/2012: Review of status of mountains

Many people are starting to plan their climbs this summer, and I’ve deemed it fit to have a review of which mountains are still closed, and we are open.

It will be a disappointment to many, but the two major mountains that have been closed for several years now are still closed to the public, and there are no signs of reopening soon. This is despite the fact that their supposed reopening dates have already passed (2011 for Halcon and 2010, extended to 2012, for Banahaw)

So far, there’s no significant volcanic activity in either of these mountains, and so they are technically open to the public.

We have not received news to the contrary, so Bulusan remains in our list as an officially/technically “closed” mountain.

There have been reports of closure in some/all parts of these Mindanao mountains, but as of January 2012, we have not been hearing of any impediment for climbing these mountains, though the statement “climb at your own risk” can still apply for some of the Bukidnon mountains.

For security reasons, some of our local sources are classifying Maagnaw as a closed mountain and we are following suit.

As a potential World Heritage Site, this mountain is being closely protected by the local government during this so-called “evaluation phase”, and it remains such at the moment.

Of course, Mt. Ragang has always been closed, though in a recent essay I expressed hope that it will become open in the future.